Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which is the beginning of the Lent season. Lent is the 40-day period of time between now and Easter, minus Sundays. The practice of Lent is commonly practiced as a way to remember the sacrifice and gift of Christ as the Savior of the world, the suffering He endured on the […]

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I’m back in the Atlanta area for the weekend. Let me first say thanks to everyone for their prayers for me and amy family during our time of loss. We sincerely appreciate the love and support shown to us during this time!

I came back to Fayetteville, GA on Wednesday. My Aunt’s funeral was on Tuesday evening. Even though this was a sad event for our family, it certainly brought us all closer together and for that I am thankful! I was able to see another aunt and cousin that I had not seen in over 30 years!

While in town, I was able to spend a good amount of time catching up with Paul and his son Adam, along with my other cousins who had just lost their mom to pancreatic and liver cancer.

The time with family was good and reminded us each of how important it is to be there for each other, especially in times like this. Almost all of us spent significant time growing up together at Grandma’s house and it was good to be together even in this time of sorrow.

Also while I was in town I spent time with the Tuckers. It was CJ’s 8th birthday. The paradox between celebrating life and mourning a death was a little strange to say the least. Nonetheless, I was reminded in both cases how precious life and sweet memories can and should be. I was thankful to be able to be part of celebrating this great day with CJ and his friends and family!

After spending a few days with family, I made my way back to Fayetteville for youth group on Wednesday night. The last couple of days have been used getting ready for our WAVE Conference that starts today and goes through Sunday night. Please be in prayer for this event as it’s a great time of worship and growth for our teams. We will learn a couple of new songs (hopefully :)) and certainly draw closer to God and each other.

Don’t forget this weekend we all get our new Not A Monster But An Alien shirts. Please bring $12 to pay for yours. We also have our final push for Change for A Change. Remember that the leader who brings in the most change from their teams will get a prize!

We will also have a dessert theater concert on Sunday night. We will use this as a fundraising concert to help generate money for the ski trip and missions next summer. It’s free. A love offering will be collected.

Finally, don’t forget that the $30 deposit for the ski trip is due on October 27! Please get that in if you plan to go!

The week was a very busy week. In fact, it was one of the busiest I can remember! Markie Love, Casey Palicki and I dove 11 hours to Newport, NC to hang out with my family, attend the Seafood Festival and work with the Korean Church.

This was only Markie’s and Casey’s second mission trip of any sort but they did exceptionally well! On Friday we met up with the Tuckers and went to the local Seafood Festival. There were tons of exhibitors and lots of rides. We spent the evening meandering the streets and had a good time on a few rides.

On Saturday we went to the Korean Baptist church and hosted the youth meeting. We worked on a few sign songs for the WAVE team and then had a brief Bible study with a few games.

Sunday morning we attended the church where we all performed Like A Lion, Superhero and Everything Glorious. One of the cool experiences for the girls was that they got to listen to the Korean service translated through a headset. After the service, we all enjoyed some traditional Korean cuisine. Then for a couple hours they were part of some Korean culture classes, where they learned some of the language, alphabet, and a few Korean games and cultural practices. I was very impressed with their willingness and zeal to jump right in and give it all a try. They did very well!

On Monday we went to Fort Macon State Park and did a little historical survey touring the fort and viewing restored rooms depicting the soldiers’ lives. This little bottle with a model of Jesus was in one of the showcases. Just thought it was cool to see something like this.

After a sightseeing tour of Fort Macon we went to the NC Aquarium in Pine Knoll Shores. I’ve been there a few times but this time was special because we actually got to feed the big fish from the top of the tank!

It was a great trip to NC and the girls had a wonderful time of vacationing and learning about Korean culture and life in general. I am glad that they were able to come along.

We rushed back to GA to make the youth meeting at New Vision and hear my good friend Dr. Lora Darrisaw challenge our students about staying away from drug use and abuse. We talked about some of the new drugs that are on the streets and making a huge impact on our society these days. Dr. Lora also talked about several cases she has been working on recently to help drive home the fact that drugs not only harms the users but family and friends of the users as well.

Thursday morning I took Trevor Jenkins and Devin Carby with me to Port Orange, FL. Our new WAVE Team in Port Orange was helping lead worship at an FCA event at Spruce Creek High School. We got to Port Orange with a little time to spare and got things set up. The event was great with about 75 people showing up for Fields of Faith, a student-led event to share testimonies and worship Jesus. The WAVE team did exceptionally well for being only 3 weeks old! I was very proud and honored to be part of this special event and occasion.

We left the next morning to drive back GA. My aunt was near death’s door and I needed to get back to drop off Trevor and Devin. My aunt passed away about 11pm on Friday night. I left GA yesterday and headed back to NC to be with the family and attend the funeral which will be on next Tuesday.

Needless to say I have been in my car a lot over the last week! I praise God for riding with me and keeping me safe and alert on the roads. As I have a couple of days before I have to do serious driving again, I hope to get some rest. But I have plenty of non-driving work to attend to which will keep me very busy.

Next weekend we have our WAVE Conference. The event starts at 7pm on Friday night with practice. A Bible study will begin about 8:15pm and everything will end by about 9:30pm at the latest. Saturday’s activities will begin at 9am and end by 4pm. I’ll be preaching at the church service for New Vision and the groups are invited to stay to perform some songs with us for the evening on Saturday and morning service on Sunday.

We are having a concert on Sunday night at the church and would like for each team to have their members bring some desserts to be served by members of the youth group from New Vision. A love offering will be received and the proceeds will go toward helping students attend either the ski trip or mission trip.

Also at this event we will end our push for Charity Water. We have been collecting change for several months. We are asking everyone to bring in as much change as possible this weekend. Let’s see which team actually can bring the most. The team leaders whose team bring the most in on Saturday will get a special prize :) For more on Charity: Water Change For A Change.

One final thing is that our ski trip deposits are due by October the 27. Anyone desiring to attend needs to have their $30 deposit in by that day to reserve your spot!

Today I’m writing from Newport, NC. Yesterday 3 of us drove up to North Carolina to spend some time with my family and to minister at the Korean Baptist Church. Markie Love and Casey Palicki are students from our New Vision WAVE Team who also have interest in Korean culture so it’s great to have them with me. They will be able to help me with teaching sign to the kids but in turn they will get to learn more about the Korean church, its form of worship and even learn some of the Korean language through a class on Sunday after church. we will be in NC until Wednesday morning.

Most of my week was used in preparing for church services at New Vision for our new series called HOME R-U-N? With the help of some other friends, we were able to get this set up for this weekend’s launch of the series. We basically glued baseball cards into letters and then hung them from the ceiling. We went with this motif because of baseball season and our focus on the family. This weekend our pastor will talk about the home as our base of spiritual operations. The question is R-U-N?

A deposit of $30 is due on October 28. Please make sure you get your deposit in to secure your spot.

We have launched a new service through The Youth Culture Report. Each Friday we will send out a small newsletter of news articles that you may have missed during the week. this will include the top 10 most read from the website. If you would like to be on that email list, please send me your email address and we will make sure you get subscribed.

Remember to encourage your team to get involved in the Charity: Water Change For A Change. We have a couple of weeks until wrap up this fundraising event. I want to be able to send in about $300 in change! That would be awesome!

Encourage your teams about the FLOW WAVE Conference. Remember we need your input on decorations. We have a concert scheduled for the evening of October 21 at 6pm as a fundraising event for the ski trip and mission trips. We will need people to bring deserts. The WAVE Teams will perform and love offering will go toward mission trip for next summer.

A few of the Stockbridge team traveled to Port orange last Saturday to lead worship at Christ The King Church. It was a great day of worship with our friend and pastor Scott Kirschner. We have been friends with Pastor Scott for several years and we were all part of his efforts in launching his church a couple of years ago. It has been our privilege to be part of serving with him in so many ways through the years.

Not only were we there to lead worship but to launch our newest WAVE team. Pastor Scott has been a big fan of WAVE teams and this is his second launch for us!

There were many that came out for the first practice on Monday. We went through several songs and did some “George exercises” to help them understand that being on WAVE team is no joke but hard work. With two run throughs on the Lawnmower Dance, the chorus of God is Enough a few times and an hour and half of practice, they held up well.

On Tuesday night the number that seems to be settling in for the long haul is about 12. Hey, it worked for Jesus! Congrats Port Orange and welcome to the V2H Family! You guys are doing awesome!

I’ll be going back to Port Orange on October 11 for a Fields Of Faith performance and speaking engagement. The Port Orange WAVE Team will perform with me! How exciting is that?!!

The trip to Port Orange was not just about setting up the WAVE Team. Trevor Jenkins, Matt Hooten and Lawson Malony accompanied me on the trip and I took advantage of using this time for some student discipleship. We talked about core values, leadership, and personal disciplines. It was a good time investing in the lives of these young men and seeing how God is working in their lives!

We had fun too though. With hours of playing RISK with our own superhero rules and pieces, several runs to Dollar General and Walmart, and a trip to the beach and lighthouse, our times were fun and memorable!

Don’t forget to get your $30 deposit for the ski trip in by October 28.

Remember to encourage your team to get involved in the Charity: Water Change For A Change. We have a couple of weeks until wrap up this fundraising event. I want to be able to send in about $300 in change! That would be awesome!

Encourage your teams about the FLOW WAVE Conference. It’s only a few weeks away! We would love to have as many people as possible attend. Remember we need your input on decorations. We have a concert scheduled for the evening of October 21 at 6pm as a fundraising event for the ski trip and mission trips. We will need people to bring deserts. The WAVE Teams will perform and love offering will go toward mission trip for next summer.

This is the new t-shirt we will be getting. I’m excited about the new shirts and hope you are too! Prices coming soon.

I just got back off a leadership retreat with our church. It was a good time of planning and preparing for the future. God is doing a good thing and we are all excited about the direction for the church. Having been on the retreat now, I am better able to see what I need to do there and that will help me with plans for V2H also.

V2H Has a new mailing address for donations. Even though many use online giving, V2H has used a PO box for several years. To cut back on costs and help Vicki out, all mail-in contributions and correspondence can now simply go to 2046 Khyber Pass Snellville, GA 30039. If you want to make an online donation you can do so through this link: Vision 2 Hear

We launched Elevate at New Vision this past Wednesday and the kids loved it! We had several kids out skating on some of the ramps and it was a great addition for the youth gathering.

Several of us will travel to Port Orange this Saturday at 1pm to plant our latest WAVE Team at Christ The King Church. Pastor Scott Kirschner and his church will host the latest WAVE that will include some of the youth that went on the summer mission trip to Nicaragua in July. We are very excited about this expansion team and expect God to use it greatly there! Be in prayer for us traveling Saturday through Tuesday.

Ski deposit money of $30 due by October 28 to hold your spot! Total trip cost is $250 which includes meals at Teen Valley, Sugar Mountain, lift ticket and rentals. If you are interested please notify me with your intent to travel.

We set and launched a new intiative to stay better connected through a database and notification operation with Barefoot ministries. With this service we can use texting, emailing, tracking of funds and calendars very easily. To update your information along with your team, please email me so I can get it loaded in and get you all connected better. For more information check out Barefoot Ministries. They also offer devotional guides and journals if you feel like your team would benefit from that tool, we can order some. They run about $1.30 each.

Remember to encourage your team to get involved in the Charity: Water Change For A Change. We have a couple of weeks until wrap up this fundraising event. I want to be able to send in about $300 in change! That would be awesome!

Encourage your teams about the FLOW WAVE Conference. Remember we need your input on decorations. We have a concert scheduled for the evening of October 21 at 6pm as a fundraising event for the ski trip and mission trips. We will need people to bring deserts. The WAVE Teams will perform and love offering will go toward mission trip for next summer.

The week turned out to be fairly busy. A good friend of the ministry drove a vehicle up from Miami on Tuesday. Their family graciously donated it to a family involved with our ministry in Tennessee. I drove the vehicle to them Thursday. While I was in Tennessee, I picked up 9 of the Elevate ramps and moved them to Fayetteville. New Vision Church is now the host home church for Elevate Skate. We are very excited to be partnering with New Vision using this unique outreach tool of providing skate ramps for local kids.

On Friday several from New Vision met at Whitewater High School to be part or serving and providing a meal for the football team. I was prepared to share a small devotional but it did not seem appropriate for the time or setting. I simply led the prayer for the meal. Nonetheless it was good for us to be there and be a visible representation of Jesus for these kids.

The amount of $250 has been set for the ski trip in Feburary. The price includes meals at Teen Valley, Sugar Mountain, lift ticket and rentals. If you are interested please notify me with your intent to travel.

We set and launched a new intiative to stay better connected through a database and notification operation with Barefoot ministries. With this service we can use texting, emailing, tracking of funds and calendars very easily. To update your information along with your team, please email me so I can get it loaded in and get you all connected better. For more information check out Barefoot Ministries. They also offer devotional guides and journals if you feel like your team would benefit from that tool, we can order some. They run about $1.30 each.

Remember to encourage your team to get involved in the Charity: Water Change For A Change. We have a couple of weeks until wrap up this fundraising event. I want to be able to send in about $300 in change! That would be awesome!

Be in prayer for our newest WAVE Team launching in Port Orange next weekend. Also be in prayer for me as I travel with our leadership team from New Vision Sunday until Wednesday for a planning retreat.

Encourage your teams about the FLOW WAVE Conference. Remember we need your input on decorations. We have a concert scheduled for the evening of October 21 at 6pm as a fundraising event for the ski trip and mission trips. We will need people to bring deserts. The WAVE Teams will perform and love offering will go toward mission trip for next summer.

I was recently invited to share at Teen Valley Ranch Christian Camp and encourage the staff during their training time. As a long time “staffer” at TVR, I pulled some thoughts together and challenged them in taking advantage of this awesome and powerful moment in their campers lives. I had them think of people in their own lives who have made significant impressions and marks on their lives and told them that now they had a chance to do the same thing for countless others this summer. As we talked about “Legacy”, I offered them a paradigm shift.

Many think of a legacy as something we leave behind. But what if legacy was about what we gave to the future; the people that we invest in for the future. It’s not about what we leave behind; it’s the people we propel into the future! The old english word for legacy has it’s roots in mission terminology. The idea was that a group of people would be “left behind” to create the future. A team would leave a legacy behind to shape the future.

Here are more of my notes from that session. It will follow the acrostic: S.T.A.F.F.

Seek and serve.

Great staffers seek out kids. It’s your job to go after them. God was a seeker in Genesis 3 and we must model His initiative. Find out what your campers like to do and do it! Serve them well. Luke 19:10, Matthew 20:28. Staffers are not “saviors”. Acts 4:12 If you seek them out, serve them well, you will lead them to the Savior.

Take time seriously.

Great staffers understand teachable moments and make the most of the time afforded at camp. You have at most maybe 5 days to 100 hours to make an indelible impact. Psalm 90:12 Take time with the Lord everyday. Take time with your campers: At least 2 times during the week. Use time off wisely. Rest so you can give your best. The Lord and the campers deserve your best!

Attention to needs.

Great staffers pay attention to needs of their campers. Every kid is different and has a unique need. Find out from youth leaders what kids home life is like. “No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care.” It’s in the details that people know you care. Do the things as a staff member that need to be done. Your job is whatever needs to be done. It’s not someone else’s job to take care of trash if it’s overflowing…it’s your job. John 13.

Focus.

Great staffers are focused on the right things. Focus on Christ. Endure the campers you have. Christ endured the cross, you can surely endure that camper! Hebrews 12:1-2. Focus on the important and significant things in these kids lives. Focus on their future not their behavior now. Ask good questions. Don’t get distracted by other staff. Focus on the finish line. “You can rest at the end”.

Faithful.

Great staffers are simply faithful people. Be faithful in the task and opportunity God has given you. Don’t get caught up in comparisons and musings on why God is doing this or that. Simply obey the Lord and leave the fruitfulness up to Him. “If you are faithful, God will make you fruitful.” At the end of our lives, God will not say: “Well done good and ‘fruitful’ servant. He will say: “well done good and faithful”. Be faithful to the end. Matthew 25

George Lockhart is a missionary with Vision 2 Hear Ministries and serves as student pastor at New Vision Church in Fayetteville, GA. He served at Teen Valley Ranch for 7 years full-time and two summers in college.